The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7472 p376
6 October 2007

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News summary

Strategy launched to improve clinical skills of pharmacists and others in Scotland

Pharmacists, GPs and community health teams in Scotland will benefit from a clinical skills strategy launched last week by health minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The strategy, jointly funded by NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council, will be implemented over three years and aims to improve patients’ experience and secure their safety through better access to high quality skills education for all health care practitioners and their teams.

A Scottish clinical skills alliance and a managed educational network will be established to oversee the strategy’s implementation. An NHS Education for Scotland programme board will also be established to performance manage NES financed clinical skills units and prioritise future developments.

A pilot study to evaluate a mobile unit for delivering simulation-based skills training in remote and rural settings is also planned.